THOUGHTS

UPON THE

Mystery of the Trinity..

T

Hough there be many in the

World that feem to be Religious, there are but few that are fo: One great Reason whereof is, because there are fo many Miftakes about Religion, that it is an hard matter to hit upon the true Notion of it: And therefore defiring nothing in this World, fo much as to be an Inftrument in God's Hand to direct Men unto true Religion, my great Care must, and, by the Bleffing of God, shall be to inftil into them right Conceptions of him, that is the only Object of all Religious Acts, without which, it is impoffible to contiuue, or indeed to be Religious. The true Nature and Notion of Religion confifting in the right Carriage and Deportment of our whole

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Man, both Soul and Body, towards him that made us; whom therefore, unless we truly know, we can never be truly Religious; and therefore they that begin their Religion with Zeal and Paffion, begin at the wrong end ; for indeed they begin where they fhou'd end: Our Zeal for God, and love unto him being the highest Acts of Religion, and therefore cannot be the firft: But they neceffarily prefuppofe the true Knowledge of God, without which our Zeal will be blind, and our Love both groundless and tranfient.

But as it is impoffible to be truly Religious, unless we know God, fo is it very difficult fo to know him, as to become truly Religious. It is true that there is fuch a Supreme Being in and over the World, as we call God; the the very Light of Nature teaches, and Reafon itfelf demonftrates it to be moft certain and undeniable. But what he is, and what Apprehenfions we ought to have of this glorious Being, none but himfelf is able to defcribe and manifeft unto us, fo that our Conceptions of him are ftill to be regulated by the Discoveries that he hath made of himfelf to us, without which, though we

may have fome confufed Notions of him, yet we can never fo know him, as to ferve him faithfully, and, by confequence, be truly Religious.

Hence therefore if we would know God, we must fearch the Scriptures of the Old and New Teftament, wherein God hath been pleafed noft clearly to manifeft and difcover himfelf unto us: I fay, both the Old and New Teftament for otherwife, our Knowledge of God may be very Defective and Erro

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neous,

there being feveral things which God, in the New Teftament, hath moft plainly revealed of himfelf, which in the Old Teftament are more darkly and obfcurely det livered to us. As for Example, The great Mystery of the Trinity; though it be frequently intimated in the Old Teftament, yet it is an hard matter tightly to understand it without the New Infomuch, that the Jews, thơ they have had the Law above three Thoufand, and the Prophets above two Thoufand Years amongst them, yet, to this Day, they could never yet make this an Article of Faith; but they, as well as the Mahometans, ftill affert, That God is only one in Perfon as well as Nature: Whereas nothing can be

:

more

yet

more plain from the New Teftament, than that there is but One God, and there are Three Perfons, every one of which is that One God; And fo that though God be but One in Nature, yet he is Three in Perfons; and fo Three Perfons, as yet to be but One in Na

ture.

And, verily, although there was no other Text in all the Scripture, whereon to ground this Fundamental Article of our Chriftian Faith; that of Mat. xxviii. 19. Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, is a fufficient Foundation for it; there being nothing, I think, neceffary to be believed concerning the glorious Trinity, but what may eafily and naturally be deduced from thefe Words, which were fpoken, it is true, by our Saviour before his Afcenfion, but I question whether they were throughly underftood, till after the Holy Ghoft was come down to Earth. It being only by God himself that we can come to the true Knowledge of him, inuch less are we able rightly to apprehend, and firmly to believe Three Perfons in the Godhead, without the affiftance of one of them, that is, of the

Holy

Holy Ghoft; by whom the other two are wont to work; he being the Iffue, as I may fo fay, and Breath of both. Hence it is, that the Wifdom of the Church, for these many Centuries, hath thought fit to Order, That this great Mystery be celebrated the next Lord's Day after the Commemoration of the Holy Spirit's coming down upon the Difciples, and in them, upon all true Believers; both because all Three Perfons have now manifefted themselves to Mankind; the Father in his Creation of them, the Son in his Converfing with them, and the Holy Ghoft by his coming down upon them: And alfo to fhew, that it is only by the Grace and Affiftance of God's Spirit, that we can rightly believe in this Glorious and Incomprehenfible Mystery,which our Saviour hath fo clearly revealed to us in these Words, Go ye, and teach all Nations, &c.

For the opening of which, we must know that our Saviour in the foregoing Verfe, acquaints his Difciples, that now all Power was given him in Heaven and in Earth; by vertue whereof, he here iffueth forth his Commiffion to his Apoftles, and, in them, to all that should fucceed them, to fupply his room, and be his Vicegerents upon Earth, he be